Scuba's Saving the Ha'Pennies

A question about : Scuba's Saving the Ha'Pennies

After my somewhat unpredictable last year I have moved back to the South and am starting my debt free journey from a new start point.

Last year I was unemployed for almost 8 months which unhelpfully coincided with the things I had organised before my unemployment and I didnt want to cancel (the wedding of one of my best friends, my annual trip to Twickenham for a rugby match among them) so my debt managed to increase but not massively.

Unfortunately once employed I left my permanent job after 4 months as I hated it to move back to the Surrey area, which then coincided with a series of somewhat inconvienient events which have conspired to cost me more money than I was happy about - making my very happy I hadn't used the salary I was saving to pay off debt like I should have been doing.

So 4 weeks after making the move for my new job (which I still love despite some tough days) I am getting the keys to my new house tomorrow lunchtime and it's time to start working out a new budget.

Best answers:

• Thanks Z
  Just had the automated phone call from my bank, they're clearly worried I've been hacked this afternoon after setting up a payment to my friends for their old car (a Y plate KA), direct debit for internet access (to be installed early January), and the rent standing order as well as transferring my deposit and first months rent for the house last week!
  Bank account status. Depleted.
  Still need to sort out new tax for the car and call my insurance company to get it covered, saving that for tomorrow as I can change my address at the same time and see what their latest insulting offer for my Fiesta will be.
• Ideally the mind melting will result in a decent offer for the car!
• So today is moving day.
  I have two towels (as Hitch hikers guide says you must always have a towel for things to be ok), four suitcases of clothes, a duvet, and a pair of pillows.
  Borrowing an airmattress, and should be picking up the keys to the car this evening when the insurance is transferred after which I'm off to the shops to find a sheet for the mattress, quilt cover and pillowcases, a pan, a mug and some milk to see me through the night and tomorrow morning.
  I'm not working on Tuesday either so if I need anything else I'll go out and get it then.
• House keys collected, I've switched on the heating and the fridge so at least it'll be warm when I get back there this evening.
  Car insurance changed over, apparently I'm due a refund which was a pleasing surprise given I'm mid claim but I'll wait and see on that one for now.
  Can hopefully collect the car from my friends husband this evening when he's home from work at which point I have to tetris my bags in to the back of it and get it unloaded in to the house before going shopping.
• I discovered yesterday that there is only so long a girl can listen to her own music collection before boredom sets in so I walked in to town and had a charity shop wander - coming home with four dvd's two of which are tv series and two films to keep me occupied for a few hours!
  I've also realised that the bathroom has no mirror so am looking at frameless and fairly lightweight mirrors I can fix to the wall with removable sticky strips until I get around to asking the landlord permission to get one more permanently fixed to the wall.
• OK am still alive.
  Still have no internet at the house.
  But am now home in the north for Christmas.
  The drive was painful, the problem with driving a KA is that it is a KA.....
  Upside there are a nice pile of free books waiting for me to open them and start reading. Naturally the downside is that I already have at least 30 books waiting to be read.
• Tiny, noisy, feels totally exposed as its basically a go kart with a roof.
  My new old car and I are not getting along very well as it just isn't feeling like *my* car, but then whatever I drove after the Fiesta wasn't going to be something I liked.
• The Fiesta was significantly newer (09 plate vs the KA which is a Y), so more modern convieniences, felt better constructed, bigger - was a total pain even getting my small suitcase in the boot of the KA which pretty much rules out doing diving anytime soon as the kit won't fit! Ahh yes and even with the fans off and heater turned to cold I was being nicely warmed up the entire trip north - possibly a lack of insulation between the engine and cabin?
  I suspect alot of it is that I didnt want to get rid of the Fiesta, I was happy driving it, knew its shape and blind spots etc and this is a change forced on me at the same time as rather alot of other changes and I just don't like it.
  Yes I am throwing a mini strop over a fairly small thing in the great scheme.
• Hope you had a great Christmas.
  We had an unusual day for us, as after visiting my Nana in her home we went to the pub for a couple of hours before heading back to Mums house where she had most of dinner on timers (and what wasnt on a timer was going in the microwave). We were all home and in bed by 10pm though as Mum and step Dad flew to Tenerife this morning, so at 0530 I was trying to tetris their bags in to the KA. The bright side is that even with three adults and two suitcases it was still pretty quick and didn't struggle with the nice long slopes on the M62, small check in its favor I suppose, although it wasn't a comfortable journey for my Step Dad as he's quite tall.
• Had planned to spend today in Mum's garage sorting out the boxes of stuff in there - things like my kitchen equipment, which I want to bring in, wash and repack as I've been rummaging in the various boxes since I moved home and am sure that I can repack the stuff in to fewer boxes and probably find more stuff I can safely throw out.
  Unfortunately my sister is hosting her annual Christmas evening for her school friends so it's impossible to get in to the kitchen to sort stuff out.
  So instead I'm in my room running perk on the tablet towards the next Ј10 paypal from them (takes a couple of months running the tv app).
  SBTV towards my next Ј100 paypal there.
  And working through some of the 600+ emails I've not looked at since mid November thanks to sporadic internet access. Am hoping that I can boost some of my survey site earnings to nearer payout levels.
• Not really the plan from now until I go back is packing and sorting.
  We've hired a van next weekend so head back probably Saturday morning which leaves me plenty of time to sort/pack/clean the majority of things if I knuckle down.
  Nope I'm generally known as short-!!!! at home, although my sister is shorter shes looks longer as she's much slimmer (naturally slim build while I have my Mum's broad shoulders and hips and the curves which come with those.
  Back seats are never comfortable unless its a campervan surely?
  I had one, once. I need to rework it when I know exactly what the new budget is once I know my living costs in the new house.